Community Service

Villa's tradition of service is grounded in the legacy of our founder, Mother Cabrini, and Catholic Social Teaching.

Yearly, each grade level chooses a theme or agency to partner with that is developmentally appropriate for the age of the students. Background information about the agency or theme is studied so students understand a bit more about the needs and the people served. The teachers, students and organization then discuss ways the students can help. As much as possible, students engage in the act of service, and not just collecting money.

For our younger students, this means service to the local Villa community through on-site activities and school-sponsored outreach. For our middle school students, we require 9 hours of community service per trimester to be earned through a combination of on-site activities and individual off-campus work. Middle school students must obtain the form to log their hours from their religion teachers and/or from the school’s website. Students who perform a total of 125 hours or more over the 12 trimesters of middle school earn the Mother Cabrini Award for Excellence in Service when they graduate.

A unique part of our community service is the reflection students do after an activity or event. This profound reflection (discussion, journal writing, drawing, etc) allows teachers to draw connections between what students did, what they felt, our faith, and what it means to have a compassionate heart.

HOW TO FIND SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

Decide what kind of work might fit your unique interests and talents. Do you like to work outside? Are you interested in working with kids? Do you love animals? Are you great at organizing and sorting? Do you have a musical talent someone in need of companionship would enjoy? Take a volunteer personality quiz at to help narrow down your volunteer options.

Take part in special volunteer events for youth. Sign up for events such as Global Youth Service Day. Small groups of youth volunteer for various community improvement projects then an event follows where the volunteers will be recognized and provided with lunch, prizes, and entertainment. Grab a few friends and try it out!

Find some inspiration. Keep your eyes open for needs in your community, notice what big issues you feel most deeply about, talk to people who are involved in non-profit work, and read about kids making a difference in the world at sites like What Kids Can Do and Do Something.

Solid Ground Sand Point Housing (Magnuson Park housing, main Solid Ground offices in Wallingford) Gladly accepts donations of new or slightly used household items like blankets, sheets, towels, pots, pans and silverware. Please contact them if you would like to collect items you think they could use.

Solid Ground Sand Point Housing (Magnuson Park housing, main Solid Ground offices in Wallingford) Gladly accepts donations of new or slightly used household items like blankets, sheets, towels, pots, pans and silverware. Please contact them if you would like to collect items you think they could use.